Would you take a life?What circumstance?

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Amos
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 04:37 PM

Somebody once told me to get a life, but no-one's offered me one to take, so now I just don't know WHAT to do!!! :>)

There are circumstances where fundamental ethics override mores and other cultural agreements. I have never been in one, but I believe that if I were my ability to survive would rule in an instant.

I would never put myself in that position knowingly; but if someone having made such a choice (to destroy me or my loved ones or even an innocent bystander) put themselves in that position I would play the cards where they lay.

And I would live, heavy hearted, with the consequences of my own decision to do so.

A

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: GUEST,UB Dan
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 04:09 PM

I'd shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die...so would Johnny

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:51 PM

I'd do telemarketers if there was a way to kill over the phone.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Kim C
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:42 PM

In defense of myself or someone I love, absolutely.

Under orders? Nah. That's why I'm not in the military.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: GUEST,petr
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:42 PM

its hard to say what people would do until they are in that situation, certainly people would not hesitate if they were defending a loved one. in a battle field situation - I read once that in the US civil war - that a large percentage of guns picked up (something like 80%) on the battlefield next to the dead were never fired. It seems that most people except for the 2% that are natural born killers have a built in mechanism that prevents them from killing other people. THe military is well aware of this, this is why the training program involves shooting at paper cutouts that pop up, aimed at making the response automatic as well as language that dehumanizes the enemy (ie. anti-personnel device, collateral damage etc or calling the enemy some other name ie. reds, gooks, bosch, etc.) Petr Ive had to put down a couple pets too and its hard although it really was the most humane thing to do.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: MMario
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:41 PM

Some creatures forfeit any and all rights, and make ignoring the faint possibility that someone somewhere sees good in them, or will miss them REAL easy.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Jack the Sailor
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:37 PM

I'm not exactly sure why but your question made me think of the movie Die Hard. If some guy who was threatening the life of my wife and a group of other hostages and he was making me run over broken glass in my bare feet while he was shooting at me I would probably be able to kill him. But only if he had a German accent. **BG**

It seems like a lot of movies spend quite a bit of time justifying the violence or at least portraying characters as bad so that the audience "wants" them to die. From what I've heard and read, it is seldom that clear cut. Even the worse people usually have people who love them and will miss them. To kill someone you have to ignore that fact.

Interesting topic. It would probably make a good song.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:37 PM

Hither And Yon??

Didn't they used to play the pub circut in the mid 60's?

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:34 PM

My family, my pets, yes.

Don't know in other circumstances, but it certainly brings up a dilemma, i.e. I don't own a gun, don't want to, so I guess the question is kind of moot, as I wouldn't be able to act on my instinct or desire, unless I had some other sort of weapon. Now, if we could all have, if we wanted, some sort of stun gun, something non-lethal, I'd feel a whole lot better about it all.

kat

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: mousethief
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:27 PM

Take it where?

Hither. And yon.

Alex

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Midchuck
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:27 PM

When my children were little, I would gladly have killed a multitude of people if those people intended them harm...with a flame thrower if I had one handy. And giggled the whole time.

Peter.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: SharonA
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:24 PM

Take it where? :^)

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: CarolC
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:20 PM

I've had to assist with the euthanasia of quite a few animals, and I've performed one by myself. In almost all cases, it was an act of mercy and I was not troubled about it. In one case, the animal was very vibrant and alive and there was no reason to put it down except that the owners wanted it put down. I wasn't in a position to protest this situation and I had to hold the dog. This was a very troubling experience.

As far as killing people is concerned, I don't know whether or not I could do it, and I hope I never have to find out.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: mousethief
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:15 PM

Take a life, take a holiday....

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:13 PM

Gnu... he said 'sports hunting'...

Me, I'd kill all of ya in a heart-beat!!! And then eat bits and pieces of the grain fed ones!!

LOL!!!!!!

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: JenEllen
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:10 PM

I deal with that (unwillingly) on a daily basis. I don't necessarily believe in the 'identifiable diety' but I do believe in doing good, and right, and that each life is worthy.

We have a little bottle of 'pink stuff' in our pharmacy that when injected will send a critter to the great boneyard in the sky. The kicker is, you gotta inject it, you have to stare into eyes, and try not to cry because it fucks up your vision and you want a clean stick. And after a weekend full of hit-by-cars, "Fluffy is 18 and can't walk anymore", or "We found this squashed up bird", you walk past that freezer full of little corpses and know that YOU did that. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I suppose for people it is the same thing. You can do what is right, but it's still the ones who live that carry the weight around.

~J

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: gnu
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:09 PM

mmmmmmm (the aggravated kind)... Self-defence or defence of innocents is an easy question to answer... you already have. As for your anti-gun : home invasions are on the rise in Canada since the storage laws were enacted. As for your anti-hunting (I know you only said YOU have no USE for it but it still sounds "that" way) : if you've never been hunting with a real hunter - not the clowns on TNN - or you use animal products, you have no vote as to whether I can hunt.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: MMario
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:06 PM

not the situations I'm thinking of LH - if I was carrying a gun I'd probably forget to unholster it.

I'm talking hands on smashing kicking glory in the destruction *D*E*A*T*H* ~ and since I have experienced the feeling of wanting to do this I'm torn between hopeing I never see the culprit again - and that I will come across him in a nice secluded place where I can make the walking turd suffer while I kill him slowly - very very slowly.

Not something I like living with...but I also am not thrilled to belong to the same species as this guy.

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:00 PM

Right, Susan. You have to be there to know.

If I were to speculate...I imagine I might take a life if I was in a war situation or in some sudden emergency where I was attacked or saw someone else attacked in what I considered a wrongful way.

One tends to act instinctively at such times.

If carrying a gun, one is much more likely to kill than if grabbing a stick or resorting to one's bare hands, however. That's why guns are so dangerous to have around.

I'd rather dissuade an attacker than kill him, all things considered.

You never can tell what'll happen in life.

- LH

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Paul Mitchell
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 03:00 PM

I'd do it for cash. ;->

Paul

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: MMario
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 02:57 PM

I get squeamish about the lives of pets - but can and have put pets down - then bawled and shook for hours afterwards. I'm a devout coward - if cowardice was catholicism I'd be Pope! - yet have several times been in situations where anothers life was threatened and without even thinking intervened - putting myself at more risk rather then less. There are situations where I do not doubt I would, could and gleefully kill another human being. They are all situations I hope never ever to encounter...a few (very few) situations where I'd do it if I had to...

but no, I never thought I could go out and shoot to kill under orders...in fact I doubt I'd have gotten through boot camp...

Subject: RE: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: wysiwyg
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 02:46 PM

How can one really know what one would do until one is actually IN the situation?

~S~

Subject: Would you take a life?What circumstance?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 24 Jul 01 - 02:44 PM

Hmmmm, starting two threads in one day....MUST be too hot around here for other activities. Well one's about music at least, but this one.......

Yeah, I often wonder about this. It's tricky, 'cause I've never been in the Military (and probably would have done anything NOT to have been), I'm generally anti-gun (but have seem my position waver a bit over the last few years) and have no use for sports hunting.

Heather and I have discussed this many times, and we seem to both go against what most of our friends probably think. Our lack of belief in an "identifiable diety" may have something to do with it, as well.

We both seem to feel that if "ordered to kill" by an authority, we'd be unable to do it, but that if we saw someone being mugged or assaulted, we could pull the trigger in a heartbeat (without remorse....we THINK). Going to jail then, would be the major deterrent...but NOT the actual taking of the life. I'll always wonder about this, and hope that any of my wacky theories are never tested.

Rick